Marble-shooter



(No Model.)

J. REINERT. MARBLE SHOOTER.

No. 496,539. Patented May 2, 1893.

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simultaneously about their respective bearvation of the article grasping a marble 1n JOSEPH REINERT, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

MARBLE-SHOOTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 496,539, dated May 2, 1893. Application filed July 2, 1892. Serial No. 438,787- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J OSEPH REINERT, acitizen of the United States, residing at Newark; Essex county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Marble- Shooters, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

The object of this invention is to provide a means for forcibly projecting a rounded object, as a ball or marble, in a given direction.

The invention consists primarily in the combination, with a pair of spring jaws, oftwo opposed levers hinged together at one end by means of suitable ears thereon and with their adjacent extremities bearing upon the said spring jaws within the outer endsof the same, whereby the said levers are adapted to vibrate ings upon the spring jaws as movable fulcra.

It also consists in certain details of such construction.

I-Ieretofore, a toy of this class has been devised wherein the spring jawstwere fixed rigidly to a handle, and a so-called trigger operated merely to eject the marble from its position between the jaws. By my invention, the hinged levers serve, not only to dislodge the marble from its position between the spring jaws, but to exert a pressure upon the jaws within their outer ends (and thus behind the marble) to produce anadditional force to that of their normal condition. The construction therefore enables me to form the jaws of such slight resistance to distension as to permit the easy insertion of the projectile, after which the intensity of their grasp may be reinforced by closing the levers thereon, as indicated above.

In the annexed drawings, Figure l is an elereadiness for operation, and indicating in dotted lines the movement of the operating levers, the pusher and the marble at the moment of the ejection of the latter. Fig. 2 is a front elevation 'of thev same with the marble removed. Fig. 3 is a plan of the parts shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4is an elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1 arranged for carrying in the pocket of the user. Fig. 5 is a side View and Fig. 6 a plan of the spring jaws detached.

Fig. 7 is an oblique view of the forward portions-of the operating levers'in readiness to be hinged together,- and Fig. 8 is a similar View of the same when fastened together.

The pair of spring jaws, which is shown formed by the U-shaped spring ahaving the projections a upon the outer surfaces of its arms, is sustained between the ends of the two levers I) having each the ears e e pivoted together adjacent to the ends of the jaws and in a plane intermediate thereto. The ex tremities of the levers are bent inward to form the fulcra f projecting transverse to the arms of the spring and applied to the latter within their outer ends and between the projections a, to prevent slipping when in operation.

As indicated in Fig. 2, the inner faces of the jaws are grooved slightly to center the marble m and to determine its direction when ejected by the spring jaws; and the extremities of the latter are also curved outward, as

shownin Figs. 1 and 5, to preserve their tangent relation to the surface of the marble as it issues therefrom. ably stamped from sheet metal in a shape convenient to be grasped by the hand of the user; -and the projections or serrations a may be struck up by applying a punch or other suitable tool to the inner surface of the arms of the flat U-shaped spring shown herein, or by any other convenient means.

The operation of the device is as follows: The levers having been forced apart by the spring a, the marble is interposed between the jaws of the same and the levers are -forced together by the hand. The fulcra f being fixed with relation to the jaws as above described, the movement of the levers inward further compresses the spring and projects the ears 6 e forward against the marble m. As the marble is pushed forward to the edge of the jaws, and the points of contact thus recede from the center of the marble, the elastic pressure of the jaws thereon upon the inclined surfaces thus presented to them causes the ejection of the marble and permits the partial closing of the jaws. It will be seen that the expulsion of the marble requires but a slight effort on the part of the operator, as the leverage of the handles 1) is great in proportion to the force required to push the marble forward against the friction of the jaws and to compress the spring a.

The levers are. prefer-' ICO The ends of the arms of the U-shaped spring are called herein spring jaws, as their function is to grasp an interposed object elastically and to partially close when released by the movement of such object beyond their edge, as described above.

A recess 1' is preferably formed in the inner side of each lever near the free end of the same, and when the device is not in use the spring a may be Withdrawn, the marble inserted in the recesses r between the levers and the spring slipped over the ends of the levers, as shown in Fig. 4. This arrangement of the operative parts renders the whole compactand adapts the device to be easily carried in the pocket of the user.

Each of the levers b is stamped from asingle blank with the ears 6 6 formed integral, the one being provided with the aperture 0 and the other having the integral eyelet t punched therefrom, as shown in Fig. '7. These levers being exact counterparts of each other, their like parts are opposed, the perforated ears e extending in close proximity to the ears e having the eyelets, which latter are inserted in the holes 0 and riveted over upon the ears 6 as shown in Fig. 8; in order to hinge the levers together.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a pair of spring jaws, of two opposed levers hinged together at one end by means of suitable ears thereon and with their adjacent extremities bearing upon the said spring jaws within the ends of the same, whereby the said levers are adapted to vibrate simultaneously about their respective bearings upon the spring jaws as movable fulcra, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a marble shooter, the combination, with the U-shaped spring a, of the pivoted levers I) provided each at one end with ears e e, the recess '1" in the inner side of the opposite end, and the fulcrum f intermediate to the ends and bearing upon the arms of the spring, as herein shown and described.

3. In a marble shooter, the combination, with the U shaped spring a having the ends of its arms grooved as described, of the pivoted levers I) having each at one end the ears e e, the recess 4' in the inner side of the opposite end, and the fulcrum f intermediate to the ends and bearing upon the arms of the spring, as herein shown and described.

4:- In a marble shooter, the combination, with the U shaped spring at having the projections a upon the outer surface of each arm, the outer portion of each arm being grooved longitudinally as described, of the hinged levers I) provided each at one end with the ears 6 e, the recess 1" in the inner side of the opposite end, and the fulcrum f intermediate to the ends and bearing upon the arms of the spring between the projections a, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a marble shooter, a pair of levers formed of sheetmetal, each lever being a counter-part of the other, and each being provided with two parallel ears, one ear upon each lever having an integral eyelet projected into an aperture in one of the ears upon the other vlever and riveted therein, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing HENRY J. MILLER, ED'W. F. KINsEY. 

